The release of Sonic 4 today really got me thinking about my gaming life and how it all began. The first game I owned was Sonic 2 for the Game Gear. I remember being so excited and how I could not believe that I actually owned a video game system; I was probably about 5 years old then. While I enjoyed video games I was not a hardcore gamer by any means. I ended up getting a Sega Genesis but still was not a hardcore gamer. However I did love Sonic games and played the hell out of those. In fact I would say I did not really become a hardcore gamer until the N64/PlayStation era. I only owned a N64 because that is all my family could afford but that is when I got introduced to my now favorite gaming franchise The Legend of Zelda. Ocarina of Time was not only one of the best games I have ever played but it was the first game that got me to play hours at a time. It introduced me to what gaming could be like. When the field opened up and I could go exploring it was a magical feeling. There were many other great games on the N64 that I had a great time with but none like Zelda.

Then the Dreamcast was released, which still to this day holds a special place in my heart. It was an amazing system and my first game for it was Sonic Adventure. Playing it now as a game it has not aged well but back then it was fantastic and I was excited to see Sonic in a new light on a new system. Along with Sonic, Phantasy Star Online was another game that I really enjoyed a lot. I had never played a mmo and I never did play PSO online. However I did have lots of late night split screen fun with my friends. I was never sure how that particular game kept my interest for years and years but it was a fantastic game. Jet Grind Radio really introduced me into innovation in video games. I had never played anything like it before and it truly shined. It was so different from anything else but I remember first playing it thinking how refreshing it was. I had never seen cell shading done before either and I always remember as a kid having debates whether or not cell shading is a good graphics style or a missed potential kind of thing. I always tended to like cell shading because I like games with color and most cell shaded games have lots of that. The last significant game impact on my life on the Dreamcast came out near the end of its lifespan. Sonic Adventure 2 was a great way to send off the Dreamcast. It was great I remember playing the first level when you are snowboarding down the street and thinking: "Can it get better than this"? It really showed off what the Dreamcast could do along with in my opinion the best 3D Sonic game made.

After Dreamcast came the Ps2/Gamecube/Xbox era. At this time I was an adolescent and would be for the rest of that gen. I played many many games that gen and I really think it’s during this gen that I truly became the hardcore gamer I am today. Some highlights from that gen would be the Jak series on PS2! What an amazing game and really brought in the age of platformers on the PS2. Ranchet and Clank series on the PS2, also a platformer but also a shooter and quite hilarious. I really think those 2 game series for the ps2 really showed me what blending video game geres was like and how good it really is. Tales of Symphonia was also a huge title for me. It has TONS of twists and turns all throughout and a fantastic story. I plan one day to go back to this game it’s too good not to play for a 3rd time. I think that Tales really showed me what story was about in games and why it was important along with great gameplay. Speaking of which Halo of course would be coming next. Still one of my favorite shooter series today Halo really showed off what FPS can do and how they can have great stories too. While Halo is a complicated story it is a good one at that. Lastly I think I would note that while these were not the only games I played they were the ones that really stood out for that gen. I played many many many games during that time and there were so many solid hits. I honestly think back to that time and feel that was truly my golden age for gaming.

Of course that leads us to this Gen but first a word about handheld gaming. My first gaming system was of course the Game Gear. Very fun system followed by some a lot of GameBoys followed by the DS and PSP. Out of all the handheld gaming systems I think my newest the PSP would have affected my gaming life the most. Why? because it has good RPGs. In this world now there are too few great RPGs that come out for the large systems. So it’s nice to see they are alive on SOME platform even if they are not on the home consoles.

Ok now to this Gen of home consoles. My favorite console this gen is Xbox 360! I never expected going in to be as excited and involved in online gaming as I am today. This was my first really time with online gaming besides Unreal Tournament 2004 on my PC. But this really kind of set me to online gaming. It was fast and fun and many games if not all games I was getting had some sort of online. It was a nice bonus to single player. I still really enjoy playing single player and often play that first but its the online that keeps me going back to the game long after single player is over. While there have been many great games this gen I am not going to pick out any that had a specific impact on my gaming life but however I will mention a few changes to gaming that has affected my gaming life. Since online gaming became more of a focus this gen it is sad sometimes to see single player get a half assed or super short campaign instead of being fully fleshed out like it would have been back in older gens. Another problem is all the grey games, a lot of games have no color and part of it is to blame games that use unreal engine 3. While there are games that use that engine that are colorful many other games using that are grey and boring. I want my color back! Luckily lately things seem to have been getting better with that. Motion control has also become real popular. While I am no sold on it I get the appeal. I have a Wii but most of the games I actually like for that system barely use the motion controls anyways. There is not one game I can think of that makes me think motion will add to the game. However I do have some hope for Kinect it does look like it could add something or be really terrible but that’s yet to be seen. One final notice about this gen is that everything is a more cinematic experience. Which in my book is great! It gets you more into the game, adds a ton to the story and tends to add to the gameplay element making everything overall better. I am excited to see what is left to come this gen and all the future gens because I am a hardcore gamer that is here to stay and loving the ride!

Comments (1)

Your timeline of gaming seems to line up with mine

Hyrule field in Ocarina of Time seems to be one of those water shed moments for the industry. It gave players a sense of wonder, scale, and adventure, the idea that anything was possible. A lot of people like to parallel that experience with the one given by Rockstar's open-world breakthrough of Grand Theft Auto 3.

Phantasy Star Online was also an eye-opening experience for my 12 year-old self back in the day. Oddly, it was the only real online experience I had leading up to Halo 2 on the Xbox, but your mention of the Jak & Daxter series on the PS2 quickly reminded me that there really were some amazing single player experiences to be had back in those days.

I really, really, really hope they do a Jak & Daxter HD trilogy for the PS3 as I would be there day 1 to pick it up.